(CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner will propose letting tax rates go up on income over $1 million as a short-term step to avoid some of the fiscal cliff while continuing to negotiate a broader deal with President Barack Obama, a Republican source said Tuesday.

Washington (CNN) - Secret conversations on the balcony. A special phone line for instant and direct communication. These are some of the tools former Democratic leader Tom Daschle and former Republican leader Trent Lott used to forge bipartisan consensus and compromise when they ran the Senate a little more than a decade ago.

In a joint interview in the shadow of the Capitol, Daschle and Lott reminisced about bridging partisan differences to get things done - instructive for today's leaders talking past each other as the fiscal cliff approaches.

Washington (CNN) - One of the reasons Tuesday night's conversation between President Barack Obama and John Boehner did not go well was because the GOP House speaker sent the White House a fiscal cliff proposal calling for a permanent extension of Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans, including for incomes in the top 2%, a Democratic source said Wednesday.

Democrats took the GOP counter offer to mean that tax reform cannot result in any marginal rates higher than current law, according to the source, who said Boehner's proposal was a "sign" to Democrats that "Boehner and the GOP are unwilling or unable to do any sort of deal that can pass the Senate or be signed by the president."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – There are currently no behind-the-scenes talks or private communication between negotiators looking to reach a deal on avoiding the fiscal cliff, a senior Republican aide said Tuesday.

"No conversations today – no emails, tweets, carrier pigeons," the aide said. "The White House is making no effort to find a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff. We are ready to talk whenever they are ready to get serious."FULL POST

(CNN) - House Republicans are making a counter-offer Monday to the White House on a fiscal cliff deal, but they continue to reject President Barack Obama's call for higher tax rates on the wealthy.

The new proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff would bring $2.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. These would include $800 billion from tax reform, $600 billion from Medicare reforms and other health savings, and $600 billion in other spending cuts, House GOP leadership aides said Monday.

Washington (CNN) – Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin is trying to turn controversy he created about rape and women on its head – making a direct appeal to conservative women in a new television ad featuring a woman who says she was raped and had an abortion.

"I'm a single mother – a woman who's had an abortion. I've been raped in my past," says the woman who says her name is Kelly.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – National Republicans are dedicating half a million dollars to the GOP candidate trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, CNN has learned.

With 11 days to go before Election Day, this is the first time the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has invested in this race, a surprise since most political prognosticators consider this Senate seat likely to stay in Democratic hands.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney is planning to shed the scrappy in-your-face debate strategy from last week's town hall and replace it Monday night with a calmer demeanor - someone voters can imagine as commander-in-chief, CNN has learned.

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